Xian has been cultivating

Chapter 142 Liu Lei, the banquet has begun

The City Lord's Mansion resembled a magnificent palace, sprawling and imposing. Lin Fan wandered through it, feeling as if he were in an endless maze. Every courtyard, pavilion, and corridor displayed a luxurious and exquisite beauty that left one breathtaking. However, even so, a complete tour of this vast City Lord's Mansion would still take Lin Fan a considerable amount of time.

When the banquet was about to begin, Lin Fan happened to walk to an inconspicuous little house. The house formed a sharp contrast with the surrounding magnificent buildings with carved beams and painted rafters. It looked short and shabby, and was out of tune with the grandeur of the entire City Lord's Mansion. Lin Fan felt curious and decided to find out what was going on.

He approached the room cautiously, first stopped and carefully observed whether there was anyone around. After confirming that it was safe, Lin Fan slowly squatted down and gently put his ear against the wall. At first, the room was silent, but after a while, some intermittent conversations came into his ears.

Only an old voice was heard saying: "Liu...if you can...everyone this time, then you will get..."

Another young voice responded immediately, "Don't worry, Father. I will never bring shame upon us... and I will make you... always... inferior to us."

Due to the distance and the wall, these words were not clear, but just from these few words, Lin Fan could feel that there seemed to be some major secret or conspiracy hidden in them.

Even though he had the secret help of the Wind Spirit Root, Lin Fan always knew in his heart that he must not go too far, because not long ago, he learned an important piece of information from Zhang Wenyu - Liu Lei was definitely not a good person and had a very bad temper. If he accidentally offended him, the consequences would be disastrous.

Thinking of this, Lin Fan couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "It seems that this is all I can find out today. I couldn't hear the most critical information at all. Forget it, the banquet is about to start now, I'd better go back to my room first." So, Lin Fan no longer hesitated, and hurried back as fast as the wind. Soon he returned to the room that the servants of the City Lord's Mansion had brought him to before.

Coincidentally, on the way back, Lin Fan ran into Zhang Wenyu. The two smiled at each other and decided to travel together. They talked and laughed all the way and unknowingly arrived at the banquet hall. There were only five minutes left before the banquet officially started. Fortunately, they were quick enough and finally found their respective seats in time and sat down.

As the melodious music sounded, the banquet finally kicked off. Liu Lei, who was sitting in the top seat, slowly stood up, raised the wine glass in his hand with a smile, looked around at everyone present, and said loudly: "I am honored that you can take the time out of your busy schedule to attend my birthday party today! Here, I, Liu, would like to offer a toast to you all!" After that, Liu Lei drank the wine in the glass without hesitation.

Seeing this, no one dared to hesitate. They all raised the wine glasses in front of them and responded in unison: "Thank you, Lord Liu (Senior)! I wish Lord Liu good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as long as the Southern Mountains!" Then they raised their heads and drank it all in one gulp.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was extremely warm and full of laughter and joy.

In this bustling atmosphere, with guests and friends all seated, the middle-aged man who was the head of the Lin family suddenly stood up. In his broad palm, he held a glass of crystal-clear wine steadily. A faint smile played on his lips as he said in a clear voice, "Today is the birthday of City Lord Liu. On behalf of the Lin family, I would like to extend my most sincere congratulations to City Lord Liu once again! In addition, I have specially prepared a landscape painting as a token of my appreciation."

With these words, Patriarch Lin waved his hand gently, and instantly, four well-trained servants filed in, each lifting a corner of the scroll. With their steady, light steps, the mysterious painting slowly unfolded before everyone. For a moment, the banquet hall fell silent, everyone's attention drawn to this exquisite landscape painting.

In the picture, there are undulating mountains, shrouded in clouds and mist, waterfalls and flowing springs, and vigorous ancient pines, as if capturing the charm of nature. Viewers all praise it and marvel at the painter's superb skills and delicate brushstrokes.

Liu Lei's face was filled with delight, his eyes sparkling with admiration, he clapped his hands and laughed, "Haha, this is a great work! Master Lin has really taken great pains. This generous gift, I would be grateful to you as the city lord!" After that, he turned his head slightly and whispered a few words to a servant beside him. Upon hearing this, the servant nodded in agreement and hurried away.

With the head of the Lin family taking the lead in presenting gifts so actively and enthusiastically, the already lively atmosphere of the banquet reached a climax. Seeing this, the other guests also stood up and followed suit, vying with each other to present their carefully prepared gifts to Liu Lei. Of course, the leader of the Cultivators' Alliance, Zhang Wenyu, was among them.

However, what was unexpected was that although people kept giving him valuable gifts, the smile on Liu Lei's face gradually became stiff. At first, that smile was full of joy and gratitude from the heart, but gradually, it seemed to be covered by a layer of frost and lost its original warmth. Everyone present was a worldly-wise person, and they were naturally aware of this subtle change.

The birthday party hosted by Liu Lei is definitely not an ordinary party. Judging from his always insidious and cunning character, he will definitely find ways to make things difficult for other people present at the banquet.

However, if all the guests only flattered and tried their best to please him on the surface before he took any actual action, it would not be easy for him to cause trouble to others with a legitimate reason. After all, he would not be able to act rashly without a suitable reason and excuse.

But Liu Lei is not the kind of person who gives up easily. A person as cunning as a fox like him naturally had a backup plan in place. Sure enough, Liu Lei whispered something to a servant standing behind him again.

Immediately afterwards, the servant took the order and left quickly. Not long after, he returned to Liu Lei with a handsome young man.

"Everyone, this person next to me is a young man from our Liu family who still needs some experience. As I enjoy watching martial arts fights, I will take advantage of this auspicious day to organize a martial arts competition. This young man will represent our Liu family and defend the ring. The victor will receive the reward I have prepared."